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Oregon police searching for person of interest after mom, 3-year-old son mysteriously vanish

Karissa and Billy
Posted at 12:53 PM, May 24, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-24 15:53:28-04

Police in Oregon are searching for a 52-year-old man who has been named a person of interest in the disappearance of his 3-year-old son and the child's mother.

Karissa Fretwell, 25, and her son William Fretwell, who goes by Billy, were last seen on May 13, and relatives reported them missing on May 17, the Salem Police Department said.

Michael John Wolfe was identified by police as a person of interest on Thursday.

He is listed as the father of William Fretwell in a child support document filed in Polk County, Oregon in 2018, according to a clerk at Marion County, Oregon court. A Salem police spokesman would not confirm Wolfe's connection to Fretwell to ABC News, or say what led police to say he is a person of interest.

Karissa Fretwell has sole custody of the 3-year-old, according to the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office.

"Information gathered during the investigation" has led police to a property in rural Yamhill County, the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

"Law enforcement officers are searching this property in hopes of locating Karissa and William, or discovering evidence which may lead to their location," the sheriff's office said. Investigators did not elaborate on what led them to this property.

Meanwhile, police are searching for Wolfe to question him and are asking for the public's help to find him.

Wolfe lives in Gaston, Oregon, while Fretwell and Billy live in West Salem, officials said.

Wolfe has thinning brown hair and hazel eyes, said police. He stands at 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 250 pounds, according to police.

Karissa Fretwell is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds, according to police. She has blue eyes and naturally blond hair, but she dyes it red.

Billy has blond hair and blue eyes. He is about 3 feet tall and weighs about 30 pounds.

Anyone with information was asked to call the Salem Police Department at 503-588-8477.